


Coming Together

by ThatOddNerd



Category: Fringe
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 04:19:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2494175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOddNerd/pseuds/ThatOddNerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes them awhile to find their rhythm. Longer than either would like to admit. In fact, it's almost three years after his decision to stay on the other side, that Lincoln Lee and (The Other Side, now his Our Side's) Olivia Dunham to go out on a date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming Together

* * *

 

It takes them a long time to find their rhythm, much longer than either of them would ever fess up to. In fact, he'd been living there in the Other Side (Now just his 'Side'.) for nearly three years before he and his Olivia (For that's how she had been differentiated to him in his mind from the other Olivia. She wasn't his and never had been. A fact that he'd long since come to terms with.) went on their first official date. 

It's nothing to do with how they work together. In fact, had one not known that Olivia Dunham's partner Lincoln Lee, was an alternate version of her original, and the original had tragically died, you wouldn't ever know that the two were different. They had a good rapport, and were closing cases more rapidly than had ever been seen. Even Charlie, returned from his long term honeymoon with his wife Mona, liked Lincoln right away, and took him under his wing. (So to speak.) No, as partners they were stellar. Flawless. They worked together with a fluidity that stunned and brought envy to those in Fringe Division. That wasn't what they had the issue with.

The issue lay with their personal flow. They were friends, buddies, comrades, sure. They went out for beers with fellow agents and tea runs because "There ain't no way the newbie can carry all of that. I might as well go with him.". But  you'd have to be blind to see the growing tension between the two. Even Charlie, at one point, asked her why it was they hadn't hooked up. Through her withering glare he defended that the chemistry the two of them had was on fire, and if something wasn't done, they'd set the rotunda ablaze. She knew he was right, and that scared her.

She wasn't ready, wasn't good at this kind of thing. She never really knew whether or not she was the marrying type, although she though maybe with Frank...but that went up in metaphorical flames. And even with him there  had been this lingering doubt... The thought of someone you had no doubts about and just knew you wanted to spend the rest of your life with was terrifying and she never really believed in it...

Until him.

She felt it, loud and vibrant and screaming at her. He was the one, he was the one she was supposed to be with. Call it intuition, call it some weird affect of some weird Fringe event they'd been too, but she knew. She knew she wanted to be with Lincoln, she knew she wanted to marry him, and maybe even start a family. She knew he was a sure thing, her love, her other half.

And that terrified her to no end. 

And so, a year after he'd moved there, she started to push him away without realizing it. She'd become increasingly edgy and would snap at him for no reason. A part of her knew what she was doing, and another part of her was screaming at her to stop. Every time she yelled at him or snapped, she winced and wished she could take it back, but what was done was done. She tried to stop, but the more she tried, the edgier she got, until the day came where she walked into the rotunda and his desk was empty. Stunned, and a little worried that somehow, during the night there had been a mission she wasn't called for and he'd been killed (Not again. She cannot go through this again.), she ran to Charlie's office (He was acting as an interim commander for the time being.) in a panic, asking where the hell Agent Lee was. The look of surprise and confusion on his face stopped her, and made her even more confused.

"Wait, I thought Lincoln told you..." he began, tentative and unsure how to proceed with his friend looking so bedraggled. 

"Told me what?" Olivia asked, her heart starting to clench. 

"He applied for a transfer like...a month ago, and a spot finally opened up at another office and he left last night."

"He applied...for a transfer?" Olivia hated that she could feel her legs turn to mush under her, and hated how dramatic she must have looked, falling to the floor with a thud, and sitting there like some sad little child. 

"Yeah. I'm sorry Liv, I thought he had told you."  Olivia shook her head, holding back tears. She would not cry. Not in front of Charlie. He'd never let her live it down. 

"Did he... I mean...why..."

"He told me that things were piling up, and he was feeling a little trapped here in New York, and he was getting flooded by memories of his old partner, who apparently was killed as well, and needed a change of scenery. I could hardly blame him, it's been a rough year. He's been doing well, case wise. He applied for a transfer somewhere on the other side of the country and a spot at the San Diego field office in California just opened up, so he left last night." Seeing the way she looked, Charlie got up from his chair and walked over to her, before sitting down and putting his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry Liv. I mean...at least he isn't dead. He's alive and well. He called me about an hour ago and he arrived there safely. His new partner picked him up and took him to his new place. I guess a bunch of agents, the top ones, all live in this big condo at this place in the city. He said it's pretty swanky. 'Bigger than your place Francis, you've been duped.' Smug bastard." Olivia smiled faintly before drying her eyes and getting up off the floor, followed by Charlie. "Feel better?"

"Not really, but at least he's alive. You're right." 

"Does this have anything to do with your cold shoulder act that you've donned as of late?" Olivia gaped at him and he rolled his eyes. "Oh come on kid, I'm, good at what I do, and that includes observation. I could see the shift happening. If it makes you feel any better I think he really did need a change of scenery as well. It isn't all you." 

"Oh thanks Charlie, lovely. Good to know I drove my partner away and he was able to let a change of scenery be his other deciding factor, since I wasn't enough to stay.Thanks for being such a ray of light Spiderman." Olivia snapped, regretting it right away, especially when seeing the look on her friend's face. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean..."

"Yeah, you did, but it's alright. Look, Liv, this is none of my business, but if I were you, I'd give him some time. Let him settle into this new job in San Diego, work, live, just be free of everything for awhile. Then, after say...a year or so, you still feel like he's the one you want, strike up a conversation that could lead down the road to ringing bells and doves."

"We haven't seen doves in years." Olivia quipped. "They aren't around in New York anymore remember?"

"Smart ass." Olivia beemed. "Alright, get to work. If you're good, I'll give you his new number." 

"I feel like a teenager in high school again, waiting and hoping to get the cute guy's phone number from his friend I secretly befriended for the sole purpose of getting his number." Olivia commented as she went for the door. Charlie let out a mock exclamation of hurt and surprise, and she smiled.

"Why Dunham, I knew you were up to no good! Only wantin' me around for my connections."

"I'm a bad girl who likes the nerdy good guys Charlie, you should have seen this coming." 

"As if." Charlie huffed in mock annoyance.

"Alright, now we really are in a high school time. Talk to you later Charlie." 

* * *

 

It's almost a year before they see each other in person again, and even  then it's for a case. A serial killer, or rather, it seemed to be a group of serial killers, were targeting random people on the streets based solely on their height, and the method of murder was still fuzzy. The San Diego office had gotten a lead and Olivia had been sent to work with them, hoping for a break in the case and a possible arrest. Olivia is nervous when she steps onto the gate platform at the station, although she tries her best not to show it. She doesn't really know what to expect when she sees him again. He said he'd meet her at the station with his partner, and they'd go right to the office if she was up to it. The last time she saw him, he'd lost the glasses but his hair was still flat, and he was prone to stumbling a bit and was a bit shy. His off duty clothing left something to be desired, but at the same time, she'd liked his dorky vests and cheap jeans. She knew he'd be greeting her in his work outfit, but she couldn't help but wonder...

It was like walking into a time machine and going back to a time when the other Lincoln was alive. Gone was the flat hair, the squint, the air of uncertainty and in it's place was a confident, strong willed, (A bit cocky.) and most importantly, relaxed, agent. He was standing two hundred feet away, leaning against a pillar in the waiting area and talking to a woman Olivia assumed was his new partner. Both had to go cups in their hands, tea of course, she could see the bags sticking out of the lids, and were smiling and laughing. They seemed completely at ease with each other and, much to Olivia's chagrin, she felt a knot of sadness and jealousy in her stomach. The woman, shorter than him by almost five inches, had ear length ash blonde hair, fair skin, and the build of a warrior. Strong, broad shoulders, muscled arms, and while she couldn't say for sure since the woman was wearing black cargo pants, she was almost positive her legs were muscled too. She almost reminded her of the vikings she'd seen in school books. Strong and resilient. She seriously doubted she could take her down in a fair fight.

Damn.  

"Olivia! Hey! Over here!" Olivia blushed, having been caught out in her ogling from where she was by the gate, and walked over to the smiling Lincoln Lee, a fake smile plastered on her own face. 

"Hey Agent Lee, how's it going?" she asked, before he rolled his eyes and pulled her into a tight hug. 

"Hey Liv, it's good to see you too. This is my new-ish partner Helena Manning. Helena, this is Olivia." The woman, Helena, turned to Olivia, her vibrant blue eyes piercing and appearing to search her soul, threw her off a bit, but she was welcomed by a smile and an outstretched hand. 

"It's nice to meet you finally. I've heard a lot about you." Helena said, shaking her hand. "Don't worry. Only good stuff. Always good stuff. In fact, he never shuts u...Ow! Fine, be that way you brat." Helena glared at her partner who simply stuck his tongue out at her, making her roll her eyes. "I don't know how you dealt with him for a year. He's driving me bonkers. Even my husband doesn't know what to think of him and he's been partnered up with some weirdos." 

"You're girlfriend liked me." Lincoln defended, as they walked down the hall to the elevator. 

"Yes, and she is now my ex. For a reason. She had an awful judge of character, clearly." 

"Whatever Manning, whatever. So, Liv, you feel up to going to the office or do you want to rest up? A guest room at the condo was made up for you." 

"Oh, I'm feeling alright. The office is fine for me, unless you two need to get back home or..." 

"Office it is! You eat in the past few hours Dunham? I know a good Mexican food place on the way to the office. Best tortas ever. Their imitation meat is to die for. Can't even tell it's fake. Of course, none of the kids under the age of 18 would know otherwise, but hey, still good." Manning looked through her various pockets before she found what she was looking for: a set of keys. 

"I thought that most of the Fringe Division agents had cars with genetic locks? Why the keys?" Olivia asked as they walked through the underground parking lot.

"Ah, well, see a few years back this one guy at the neuroscience institute here in the county, he went a little bonkers and starting doing all these genetic tests, trying to mess up all the genetic based locks in the newer technology. He figured it had a lot to do with brain waves and what the chips in the cars  in particular, sensed about those brain waves. Like for instance, you know how if you get into one of those cars and you're completely smashed or falling asleep and the thing drives itself? Well he figured out how to bypass the chips and leaked the info in the newspapers. Tons of break ins, car robberies, et cetera. Finally, the people of the county voted to go back to the old style everything, before the genetic sensors, since apparently those weren't doing a damn thing to help now. Hence, old fashioned keys. Better way to protect your stuff. Key copiers of the old type aren't really around anymore." They  came up to a black Jeep Liberty, where Helena opened the doors, told Olivia to toss her stuff in the back, and they were off. 

What was supposed to be a week long trip turned into a month, then two months, then three. Every time they thought they had a solid lead, the group would disappear only to reappear soon after. The only good thing was that it seemed that they were now all based in San Diego instead of spread out through the country. The closer Fringe Division got, the fewer killings there were, but the killings became more and more brutal. Until a face off happened , on Harbor Drive, right in front of the bay. It was oddly poetic, and would have been morbidly beautiful, the fire from the blazing guns sparking in the night, the fluid motion of the agents as they ducked and covered, then shot, as the group of killers holled up on the Midway ship, had he not been him and done what was just so...Lincoln...in that situation. 

Manning had managed to sneak up onto the ship without being noticed, and had almost made it to the top of the ship where the leader was, before one rather stupid onlooker from afar, shouted "HEY LOOK! THEY'RE GONERS NOW! MANNING IS THERE!". And...shit.  Olivia saw the agent duck before a stream of bullets headed her way. She made it to the flight deck, and was running, ducking behind planes and apparently gearing to jump from the ship. Olivia was so entranced by this heart pounding occurrence that she hadn't noticed Lincoln wasn't next to her anymore until she said something about how crushed Helena's husband would be if she didn't make it, and who would tell him? 

She said nothing, but she knew exactly where he'd gone. It was a minute before she saw him again, creeping along the surface, trying to hide in the shadows and get closer to his partner to help. Apparently she'd seen him too because Olivia saw the instant Helena's plan changed. There was something about her body movement, as far as Olivia could see through the binoculars she'd been using, it tensed, relaxed, then tensed again, and shifted. Over the coms, Olivia heard the now familiar sound of Helena cussing in Swedish, and Lincoln's curt, sassy reply. What happened next happened, in reality, in the span of about a minute, but for Olivia it felt like an eternity. Close enough to the edge to jump to the lower platform without getting shot (maybe), Lincoln shot out from his hiding spot and grabbed his partner, both of them jumping, then hiding under the tiny amount of coverage offered from above, as a rain of bullets followed them. They paused, then quickly and deftly, Helena pulled something from the pack on her left hip, pulled at it, then, taking a deep breath, ran and threw it above. A moment passed before a hissing sound was heard and then, as soon as the hissing stopped, Olivia felt herself being thrown to the ground by a fellow agent, the sound of dropping bodies all around her, as a bright, white light filled the air, and another fizzing sound occurred, then the sound of screaming men and women. The coast apparently clear, Olivia got up and looked back through the binoculars to see several, most in fact, of the killers on board dropped to the ground, clutching at their faces. They were running again, and Olivia was sure they'd made it home free when she saw Lincoln pitch forward just as they got to the edge of the boat, and then fall, not jump, into the water, Manning jumping in after him. A few well placed tranquilizers to the remaining bad guys who'd been forced to come from their hiding spots by the blinding grenade taking out most of the people, ended the ordeal. Olivia flew down the steps of the building she'd been on top of and over to the edge of the water on the bay, looking frantically for both the agents. She'd almost given up hope when...

"Good GOD would SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME OUT HERE?! He's a LOT MORE HEAVY THAN HE LOOKS. Asshole needs to lay off the french fries for awhile if he expects me to do this on a daily basis." Olivia ran over and down the dock ramp, followed by two more agents who pulled Lincoln up onto the cement. He was alive and breathing, but looked bad. The bullet had caught him in the stomach, and while it looked as if it probably missed vital organs, Olivia felt ill at the sight. 

Hours later, in the waiting room of the medical center at the Fringe Division office, Olivia contemplated her life so far, and the choices she'd made. The prospect of not only losing Lincoln for a second time, but losing the one she loved the way she did, her, dare she say it, soulmate, was too much. She knew he was well adjusted here, maybe she'd move there for awhile before they returned to New York. If he lived, she'd tell him everything. If he lived, she'd tell him how she felt and how she didn't want to wait anymore and screw the long dating period, she wanted to get married soon. Life was too precious to put off. 

"I want to be invited to the wedding." Olivia started at the groggy voice next to her. She'd thought Helena, bruised but okay, was still asleep. As she groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes and eying an empty tea cup next to her suspiciously, she yawned before she looked over at Olivia. "He'll be fine. He'll live. You'll tell him your thing. You'll get married. I want to be invited to the wedding." Olivia nodded, and Helena smiled sadly. "He's tough, tougher than tough. He's been through some shit. He won't give up easily. A trait that apparently every version of him has." Olivia looked startled, the fact that Lincoln was from the other side hadn't made it's way entirely around the Fringe info share, nor had the previous Agent Lee's manner of death. "He told me everything." Helena explained. "He needed to unload, we were in the kitchen drinking whisky. It'd been a long day and it was just us. Everyone else was asleep. I'd just broken things off with my ex and Linc and I were swapping bad life stories. He just...everything came out." Olivia nodded. "Ah, look, there's the doctor, he looks mighty optimistic."  

He was. Lincoln was still out but he would be fine. He got extremely lucky. It was, as the doctor put it, as if the universe wanted to see this man live , he wasn't done yet. 

He couldn't leave the hospital for a couple of weeks, and after that, his boss wasn't comfortable with him travelling too much or doing field work, so he was desked and put on flight restriction for two months. Olivia had to go back to New York, but three months after he'd been shot, she returned. It had been a quiet evening at the condo the agents shared, when there was a knock at the door. Helena and Lincoln were going over case files in the kitchen, and Helena raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask if he was expecting anyone. He shook his head and Helena hopped off the barstool she'd been sitting on, careful to grab and hold her smaller emergency gun close to her side as she went to open the door. A minute later, she returned to the kitchen , beaming, and telling him he had a visitor. 

Padding down the hallway in socks, his pajamas, and curiosity, he came to the front door and saw her standing there, her hair up and dressed in a black bandage dress, wearing black  heels and giving him a look. 

"Hey, I've come to ask you out Lee." she greeted, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulder before pulling the stunned man closer to her and whispering "We have a lot to catch up on." 

Three months after that they were married, Helena and her husband Callum in the front row, all smiles, and Charlie looking like the smug bastard he was. 

It may have taken them awhile to come together, but in the end, they found their rhythm just fine. 

 

The End.

 


End file.
